Reid lists woes of Home Office

John Reid has proved himself an astute operator in admitting that the Home Office a joke. The new Home Secretary has described the immigration department as not fit for purpose, inadequate in terms of its scope, information technology, leadership, management systems and processes. 

Reid said that nothing less than a full and fundamental overhaul will be sufficient and promised to shake up the department to get it fit for purpose. Recent disclosures (prison mismanagement, sex for favours in the immigration department, poor control of immigration and illegal immigrants and offences by dangerous prisoners who have gone on to re-offend) make sorting this mess a matter of survival for Mr Blair, a man many even in his own party see as having passed his sell by date. 

Michael Howard described the situation as the result of nine years of neglect, saying that the HO had been in a good state when he left. Which other departments are in a similar state of chaos after 9 years of poor administration? We know that Finance is, with Brown having dug a massive hole with his profligate spending. We know that Health is, with its profligate wastage and mismanagement.

To return to the HO.  The question is whether Reid can prove to be more than the proverbial new broom and succeed in reorganising the Home Office and the many organisations that are part of it, and quickly.

What is certain is that heads must roll, and publicly. Jo Public will no longer accept the 'nobody can be blamed' and 'systemic failure' bullshit which  Labour uses to cover its ass, especially after the recent spate of revelations which serve to show an organisation in chaos. 

John Reid is a Blair man who has been around for a while and who knows the ropes. I would suggest that he is probably the most capable of Blair's cronies. I also have a feeling that he would like a crack at the top job when Blair goes, so quick success is a must to keep Blair around for as long as possible while he raises his profile to make a run for the PM ship. I'd prefer him to Brown, but time is running out, as Labour face a crisis of faith (Guardian unlimited) - even within its own ranks as Blair desperately tries to push through his controversial school bill. (Guardian unlimited) Too late, perhaps?

See these reports: Immigration official suspended -  Telegraph  |:|  Immigration system unfit - BBC News  |:| Unfit for purpose -  Guardian Unlimited |:|  Reid vows to make Britain safer - BBC News |:| Reid's year zero plan - BBC News |:| How the Home Office works - BBC News |:| Home office woes - BBC News |:| Home Office chief echoes Reid's attack - Guardian Unlimited |:| More blunders - BBC News |:| Reid attacked in new release row - BBC News |:| More foreign offenders released - BBC News |:|

Update on Tuesday, June 6, 2006 at 10:14PM by Inyoka

A report in the Guardian quotes Lin Homer, the head of the Immigration and Nationality Directorate, as saying that it will take years to ensure the immigration service is working properly. Homer, the most senior civil servant in the IND, was 'admonished' by the home affairs select committee, for an "extraordinary" inability to provide even basic information about her department.

Admonished, but not fired. Yet.

Which brings me back to the recent report by the civil servant's union which complained of politicians passing the blame onto the civil service.  Thing is, Charles Clarke was hardly Home Secretary long enough to warm the seat. So who is responsible for this unholy spherical elevation? Blunkett? Or the real person at the helm, the department's most senior civil servant?

Guardian special report on Immigration, asylum and refugees.